Advancing the Avalanche: McGinn’s homecoming, the Desjardins line and Clowe on that slew-footing

Jamie McGinn was in the spotlight and all that noise you hear in the background comes from his Colorado Avalanche teammates giving him the business for all the media attention he was generating on his first trip back to San Jose.

Most direct question for McGinn? Maybe the one asking, “Don’t you want to stick it to those guys?”

McGinn provided a politically correct answer: “Yeah, I want to win. We need the points just as bad as they do. Trade or no trade, both teams need the points and that’s all that’s on my mind, getting this win because we need to get into the playoffs. This is huge.”

McGinn, of course, has gone on a scoring tear since being traded from the Sharks to the Avalanche with eight goals and four assists in 13 games. He’s found a regular spot on a line with center Paul Stastny and right wing David Jones.

Did coming back to San Jose kind of force him to rethink what led to his being trded a month ago?

“No,” McGinn said, “I’ve kind of forgotten about it. It’s kind of a surreal moment when you are traded. Now it’s just seeing your old teammates again and being back at the Shark Tank. This is a special building to me and it was a lot of fun. The fans are energetic and I enjoyed playing here. Hopefully I can continue that in an Avalanche uniform as well.”

And you haven’t been thinking, why me?

“I haven’t thought about it. It’s done and over with. I’m happy. It worked out for me and I’m just going to continue to play. It’s out of my control. It’s hockey.”

McGinn did spend Sunday night having dinner with five of his former teammates — Logan Couture, Ryane Clowe, Colin White, Jason Demers and Torrey Mitchell — but he said once he got into the game tonight, he wouldn’t have a problem facing them on the ice.

“Maybe a little bit but you’ve got to forget about it right away,” McGinn said. “You’ve got to continue to play hard every night no matter who you’re against. It’s hockey. Trades happen. You can be buddies off the ice, but once you’re on the ice, you’ve got to forget about it and worry about what’s ahead. There’s five games left. Every point’s important and I can’t take a night off.”

McGinn didn’t really have an explanation for his scoring surge, but said it was important to him to get off to a good start in his new surroundings.

“You want to be an impact player right away – new fans, new teammates,” he said. “You don’t want to be coming in and kind of sitting back, just watching. I want to be an impact player, I want to be a part of it, I want to be a guy they can look to to maybe put the puck in the net.”

So did Colorado coach Joe Sacco pick his brain for insider informaton about the Sharks.

“Yeah, maybe a little bit. I know them well,” McGinn said. “But it’s all in what we do. We can’t worry about what they do. If we play our game and work hard, stick to our system, we’ll be all right.”

Hmmm. Sounds exactly like what we’ve always heard coming out of the San Jose locker room, too.

McGinn is wearing No. 11 on his jersey now after spending his entire career as a Shark with No. 64. Frankly, numbers in the 60s don’t really convey permanence unless you’re Mario Lemieux or Jaromir Jagr. Was McGinn glad to be rid of it?

“Yeah, I decided to retire 64 with the Sharks,” he said, smiling. “That was a training camp number. I was happy to let that one go.
It’s nice to have my own number.”

******So, Joe Sacco, do you think there’s any danger Jamie McGinn will be too pumped up tonight?

“I don’t think so,” the Avalanche coach responded. “Even though he’s a young player, I think he understands you don’t want to get over-emotional in a big game like this. It has to do with what’s at stake moreso than even him being back.”

Then Sacco volunteered a critique of McGinn’s play as of late.

“Jamie’s been excellent since he’s been here. He’s played great for us, he’s been a very consistent player. I know he’s produced a lot offensively for us, he’s got 8 goals in 12 games, but even more than that he’s solidified a line with Paul Stastny and David Jones. He’s been a real good fit with that group and they’ve been playing very well together lately.”

******OK, back to the San Jose side at HP Pavilion.

Not a lot of actual news to report, hence all the above words on Jamie McGinn’s return. It was an optional skate so no line updates, though it’s a very safe bet Todd McLellan won’t be tinking with the line of Daniel Winnik, Andrew Desjardins and Tommy Wingels.

Those three started as the fourth line against Phoenix, but actually ended up with more ice time than the third line of Dominic Moore, Michal Handzus and Torrey Mitchell.

So does the Desjardins line start as the third one tonight? Not automatically.

“It’s all situational,” McLellan said. “As a coach, you have the memory of the last game and you have to reward that group for doing what they did well. But it’s on a night-to-night basis and they’re going to have to go out and establish themselves well again.

“I expect Zus’s line to be much better than they were last game and it’s good to have that healthy competition. There is no 3, there is no 4 – just two lines that are going to get some ice time and whoever’s doing well is going to play.”

But he definitely likes the chemistry on that Desjardins line.

“I think Tommy Wingels coming back has added to that. He’s an offensive threat, he’s played physical,” McLellan said. “Desi seems to be confident right now and Winny is starting to feel comfortable now. You can see where he’s found a home.”

******Ryane Clowe talked about the play in Saturday night’s game that cost Phoenix center Alexandre Bolduc a $2,500 fine Sunday for slew-footing. That play immediately struck me as dangerous and the replay confirmed that.

Clowe, however, hadn’t even looked at the replay when we talked a couple hours ago — and didn’t realize it was slew-footing until the next day.

“When the play happened, he got me with a high stick and I thought that’s what they called,” Clowe said. “As we both went in, I didn’t really know what happened and I didn’t realize I got slew-footed until he got fined. But I knew I went down pretty hard.”

Here’s Clowe’s response when told Bolduc was called for hooking, not high-sticking:

“They called hooking? I thought it was a high stick. Three for a dollar, I guess.”

******Obviously a lot at stake in tonight’s game. A regulation win for the Sharks goes a long way toward eliminating one of the teams that they’re vying with for a playoff spot. Both sides, of course, are more than fully aware of that.

David Pollak

David Pollak has been following the NHL forever and at the Mercury News as an editor or reporter since 1987. For almost a decade he wrote about the Sharks as the paper's Fan in the Stands before joining the sports department in 2001. He became the Sharks beat writer before the 2007-08 season and began this blog at that time. You can also follow him on Twitter at @PollakOnSharks.

For now, the team needs to focus on putting all of its energy to winning the next game. After Wednesday, The sharks only opponents are Dallas, Phoenix, and L.A. Unbelievable games, where each teams lives are at stake.

They are in a real good position, but things can change very quickly.

puckace

Solid game last night. Great to see the effort throughout the entire line up. And Nemo was good. Nice to see him play closer to the level he needs to be at to help win a few games in the playoffs. He was steady all night and the defense protected him well with the exception of the single Av’s goal. Nemo had no chance on that one. Still not sold on him, but if he can play like last night or better, I like our chances if we make the playoffs.

Speaking of playoffs, I don’t really care who we play as much as we get into the playoffs in the first place. Gotta beat the best to be the best, so bring em on!

Keep it going Sharks!

There is 0% chance that we won’t see More Lame Boneheaded Super Flatulence today…

slappy

Doug H@248
Yes I’m saying Sharks won because Avs have no defense to speak of. And the reason the Avs were playing open pond hockey was likely on orders from the Avs coach. You think McGinn was doing his own? And don’t get too smug over Winnick ( and Moore who has been dropped to the 4th line btw) and his “2 way” play. Winnick is known as defensive forward and not for putting in goals. So Winnick is NOT 2 way by any means. I’ll give him credit for meshing meshing well with Desjardins and Wingels but who knows if McGinn would have not done the same thing if TM had benched and dropped Zeus to the 4th line and Mitchell too when McGinn was still here? You and others seem to forget what anchors McGinn was playing with here (26+17).

Daryl O

In #197, g-bum-man wrote: techically speaking 88 points are required to be in the playoffs. All the pacific teams could lose from here on out–and then the Sharks would enter the PO’s as the division winner with thier current 88 points.

Just FYI – It turns out that this is impossible. 5 of the 6 remaining Sharks games are against Phoenix, Dallas, and Los Angeles. So it is impossible for the Sharks to stay at 88 points while the other Pacific Division competitors also stay below San Jose.

Buddy Elf

Amazing…. if (insert Sharks player) is on the ice for 4 even strength goals against, he’s horrible, trade him, the ship is sinking, DW sucks for acquiring him, OMGZ!!!!

If McGone is on the ice for every single goal against for his team even strength (4), he “had a strong game” (exact quote).

The analysis here is top notch.

GP

JSJ,

I am enjoying your sarcasm 39.

I don’t think there is anything “coin-able” as in the “Urban Legend.”

GP

Stevo,

Thanks for the thoughts. Was not at the tank last night sadly.

slappy

Buddy Elf@255
It takes a fragile ego to get pumped from bad mouthing a loyal ex-Sharks young player. But hey carry on if thats what it takes to bring your life some joy. At least you’ve stopped chewing on Seto and Heater. That was getting rather boring to read over and over and over again. At least Ginner represents some new material for your put down routine of ex-Sharks players so in that WTC posters can get some relief.

Long Time No Cup

Dear Tom (fQ),

Huh? I don’t get the Marleau jump rope thing. What brought that up?

Buddy Elf

slappy: Amazing how you turn it around to me dissing McGone… when your analysis that “McGinn has a strong game” was shown to be utterly ridiculous. But then again, there you go attacking the arguer not the argument since you obviously can’t defend the fact that you said McGone had a strong game. Even if you said he had a decent game… when you are on the ice for 4 even strength goals against, you cannot possibly be having a strong game, unless you scored a double hat trick and 2 assists in your team’s 8-4 victory. Even then, it’s suspect.

Sorry to interrupt your hating on the current Sharks players, management, coaching, and team as a whole. Continue on.

McGone has a strong game…. HAHAHA.

slappy

BuddyElf@260
“Sorry to interrupt your hating on the current Sharks players, management, coaching, and team as a whole. Continue on.”

Sorry you got the wrong WTC poster to attack. I have not expressed “hate” for DW or Sharks players. In fact I have supported DW and Marleau and JT when all you’ve done is attack the critics.

I have criticized the coaching staff like many WTC posters here and if that’s considered “hate” you are submerged in hate in that you continually express hatred against other WTC posters and ex Sharks players over and over and over again.

Ginner had a great game. I stand by that. He had several excellent scoring chances against Nemo. Ginner himself could have easily had 2 goals and 1 assist last night but for Nemo ( and Pickles or Burns) robbing Ginner and the Avs. The fact that Ginner was a -4 is because he plays on the 2nd line – they’re on the ice a lot – and the fact that Avs have no Defense to speak of. You put Hejda and O’Brien in front Nemo and see how many we’d win.

JB

“The analysis here is top notch.”

It all makes perfect sense if you’ve already made up your mind about what the “truth” is and are looking for “facts” to support it. Or you’re just wearing a straightjacket.

A side note from last night: McClement, McGinn, McLeod, O’Brien, O’Byrne, O’Reilly – Faith and begorrah! I see why the Avs didn’t ask for Wingels instead.

Beer League

Nice games by the Sharks. Win and their in. I’ve been refraining from commenting for the most part. Tired of most all of the drivel. Support your team and the players on your team. The guys that aren’t here anymore, good luck and I wish you well. Trades that happened last summer, or 5 years ago don’t matter right now. Can’t change the past. This is your sharks team. Go Sharks!

Buddy Elf

“I have criticized the coaching staff like many WTC posters here”

Bandwagon.

Doug H

Slappy,

having a couple great scoring chances that you fail to put away and going -4 even strength in a 5-1 game does not a good game make.

i watched when he had the puck, and he was usually taken off it quite easily by our third line. offensively he wasnt even going up against our top guys. defensively he was against our #1 line and the desjardins line at times. unable to win the board battles, and all his “hitting” amounted to very little in the end.

some of the posters here seem like jilted ex lovers in regards to mcginn, and its getting to be pathetic. try cheering for the sharks next time.

Clemenza

Christ…

Amazing that a solid game from top to bottom can’t bring these boards a litle closer to a consensus about the team….

youre right, unfortunately and i dont know why that complete game has been few and far between this season. maybe the sharks are focused on staying healthy, winning when they can and sneaking into the playoffs back door. going full throttle all season (blues, rangers, penguins) can have ill effects on your playoff campaign and it should be interesting.

Buddy Elf

slappy: “The fact that Ginner was a -4 is because he plays on the 2nd line – they’re on the ice a lot”

McGone had the 7th most ice time even strength of all of the forwards last night…

Try again.

Hockeynut

The trouble is Clemenza, the Sharks put out an effort like last night only about once every 5 games on average. It’s hard to believe they are going to flip a switch should they make the postseason and suddenly play like this every night. Add to that the fact that in reality they played a pretty sloppy defensive game and it was Niemi who kept several easy Avalanche chances on giveaways and blown defensive assignments from ending up in the net. If Niemi is “average” it’s a different game last night.

Doug H

buddy,

lol. Colin White was a -4 and scored a goal once and he got heavily bashed. Mcginn does it and he had a strong game.

And a referee was O’Halloran. Thankfully, he didn’t help generate some luck-o’-the Irish for the Avs.

SactoShark

Bushleaguebaseball must be so hurt his BF cheated on him.

From Logan’s twitter:

“Caught up with the sauce @JamieMcGinn64 tonight. Good to see him, what a beauty.”

He probably texted him an apology…unclear whether Logan thinks BLBS is a ‘beauty’ though

Beer League

Why call out the fool. Enjoy the win. He will be back with his drivel, along with many others the next time the sharks lose.

dan

by winning they just prevents the sh#t from happening this year
we will see the same sh#t again next year unless some major changes are made by management. It is only worth it if they win it all this year and they have to win it all this year. if they get in and lucky enough to play the Wings, they will advance. for some unknown reasons, the Wings can’t beat them right now

WI JP

You are a breath of fresh air, Dan. Sounds like you take pure pleasure in the pursuit of the Cup.

Slappy, “Ginner had a great game. I stand by that.” May all future opponents play equally great.

Obvious Troll is Obvious

“Got a text from Logan recently, he is doing fine, no injury suffered.”
——
does he know you’re in first place for WTC’s biggest d-bag? And also for the most amount of fake personas used on a hockey blog?

Patrick Marleau is WORTHLESS. On a night when just about everyone (except HIM) was getting scoring chances, all he can manage is to blow an EASY breakaway by shooting 5-hole when the 2-hole was the place to go.

And the “2” would have been open if he hadn’t skated INTO the goalie’s grill.

Look. I know Patty hasn’t had a breakaway in awhile, so there was some rust. And he likely just got up from his nappy, laced em up, hit the ice, and 2nd shift in, then – “uh oh – I’m in all alone… CRAP!”, was handed to him.

Epic fail.

Nice choke Patty. That’s why you get paid the big bucks. To CHOKE in the playoffs to the
playoffs.

Fire Doug Wilson for resigning Patty.

Fire Doug Wilson for trading away all of the Sharks’ picks and prospects.

Fire Doug Wilson because he is Doug Wilson.

Solved… THAT was easy!

Hockeynut

Calling someone a “beauty” in Canada is different than in the USA. Don’t you remember Doug and Bob McKenzie? Beauty eh?

Undeniably believe that which you stated. Your favorite reason seemed to be on the net the simplest thing to be aware of. I say to you, I certainly get irked while people consider worries that they plainly don’t know about. You managed to hit the nail upon the top and defined out the whole thing without having side effect , people could take a signal. Will probably be back to get more. Thanks